Grizzly Bear That Bit Hunter Near Cody Euthanized

Wildlife officials say an old and underweight grizzly bear was euthanized after biting a deer hunter on the thigh west of Cody.

Wyoming Game and Fish spokesman Dennie Hammer says the man surprised the bear while he was hunting late last week in an area of dense willows near the confluence of the South Fork of the Shoshone River and Buffalo Bill Reservoir. The hunter suffered four puncture wounds from the bite but was not seriously injured.

Hammer says that while the bear was acting normally, biologists decided to capture and euthanize it over the weekend because of its condition, age and proximity to populated areas. The Billings Gazette's Wyoming bureau (http://bit.ly/uS6pxb ) reports that the bear's exact age is not known.